Nadimul Hasan Elem. Photo: Collected

DHAKA, Jan 28, 2025 (BSS) – Ismat Ara Begum, 48, mother of martyr Nadimul Hasan Elem, is still to get daily caring and loving attachment of her beloved son.       

Grief-stricken Ismat, whose son was killed by police firing during the Student-led Mass Uprising, still believes her beloved son will return to take her to a doctor as she is suffering from a heart-related condition.

It was July 19 when Elem hurriedly left his home to join a protest rally organized by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. The rally, held in Old Dhaka’s Lakshmibazar, was in protest against the autocratic government led by Sheikh Hasina. Main streets were buzzing with revolutionary slogans, police indiscriminately opened fire on the protesters.

“One of the bullets struck Elem in the eye, causing him to collapse,” said Shah Alam, 50, Elem’s father, as he broke down in tears recalling the tragic incident.
Elem, the eldest of three siblings, felt a strong sense of responsibility toward his family. 

He started working at a private company immediately after passing his Higher Secondary Examination to support his family. His salary helped his father and paid for his mother’s medicines.

“Elem was very responsible toward the family... He often spoke about the welfare of the nation,” Shah Alam said.

When Shah Alam cautioned his son about overthinking such issues, Elem replied, “If everyone stays silent, how will our country develop? Someone has to step forward.”
With this conviction, Elem couldn’t keep himself from protesting the oppression and killings of students. He joined the rally in Old Dhaka’s Lakshmibazar on July 19.

“It was a Friday,” Shah recalled. “Elem’s aunt had cooked khichdi and asked him to stay and have lunch.”

“Elem hurriedly ate a small portion of food and left the house,” he added.
Later that evening, Shah received a phone call informing him that Elem had been shot and was being treated at Mitford Hospital.

When the family reached the hospital, they found Elem dead. “It was hard to recognize him because of the bullet injury,” Shah said.

“Elem wore a white shirt that day, but it was drenched in blood, turning it completely red,” he added.

When the family tried to take Elem’s body from the hospital, they were asked to obtain a clearance certificate from the police.

“We visited Sutrapur, Kotwali, Dakhshin Keraniganj, and Gendaria police stations, but the police misbehaved with us,” Shah recalled.

Eventually, they managed to bring Elem’s body back to their home in Kaliganj Telghat. However, local Awami League leaders pressured the family to bury the body quickly and, through the chairman of Suvadda Union Parishad, instructed them not to cry.

Members of Swechasebak League stood outside their house, intimidating the family to ensure they did not mourn openly.

“My wife has been sick since the day we lost our son,” Shah said, adding that Elem’s mother, a heart patient, has been advised to undergo open-heart surgery.

The family has received Tk 2 lakh from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Tk 5 lakh from the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation.

Shah Alam also demanded that the road stretching from Kaliganj Telghat to Boys Club be named after Nadimul Hasan Elem.